Bee keeper says someone poisoned his hives

LULA, Ga. -- Earlier this week lifelong bee keeper Donald Kuchenmeister started seeing piles of dead bees near several of his hives. But if he isn't afraid of the millions of bees on his farm, he can't be expected to be afraid of vandals-or a rival trying to destroy his hives.

"I've been a commercial bee keeper for 48 years, when I lived in south Georgia it was very common for rivals to knock your hives over with a four wheeler, or shoot them, anything to put you out of business," Kuchenmeister said.

He's not sure who apparently sprayed pesticides in his hives or why, but he knows he'll keep doing what he's done for six decades-keep tending bees and educating others about them.

"This is basically a lost art, and people don't want to perpetuate it," Kuchenmeister said. "And I'm doing my best to do that."

That mission is now being helped by nearly a million views for his bee keeping videos on YouTube. He said while he's lost three to four thousand dollars from the poisoned hives-he's not going anywhere. And even when he passes on, he'll find a way to keep his bees buzzing over him.